This article was first published on Spirit Filled Christian Living
I have been a Spirit filled Christian for over 34 years. During that time I have heard almost every argument imaginable against the Spirit filled lifestyle. So, I thought this would be a good time to list for you some of the myths that people believe concerning Spirit filled living.
10 Myths About Spirit Filled Living And Spirit Filled Believers.
Myth #1; Spiritual Gifts Prove Spiritual Character
In our culture, we glorify and glamorize people with special abilities. Whether it is sports abilities, musical abilities, or speaking abilities, we seem to think that they are something better than the rest of ordinary humanity.
Unfortunately many Spirit filled Christians allow this worldly attitude to pervade how they perceive people with powerful spiritual gifts.
The word used in the greek language for spiritual gifts is charismata. It means a favour with which one receives without any merit of his own the gift of divine grace.
Spiritual gifts are given by grace and not because of the special holiness of the person operating in the gift or because they some how were rewarded because they had good character. So to think that a person operating in a spiritual gift is somehow an indicator of their spiritual character is false. They can have the greatest prowess using their spiritual gifts but still be the biggest phony and hypocrite around.
Myth #2; People Who Operate In A Spiritual Gift Think They Are Better Than Others
We are all sinners saved by grace. All of us are started on a level playing field. We all in one way or another had to come to Jesus just as we were, warts and all.
There are times in the life of all believers when God bestows upon us His blessing where we are tempted to be prideful. It does not matter whether it is pride about a particular doctrine or teaching that we just learned, whether or not we are proud of our natural abilities, or whether we succumb to the temptation that somehow receiving a gift of grace has somehow made us better. Pride is no respecter of persons. However with any seasoning at all and with solid role models, Spirit filled Christians, just like all Christians, grow out of that pride and realize that all that matters is that Jesus is glorified in us.
Myth #3; I Could Never Hear God Like You Can Hear God
Not only is this a myth, but quite honestly, it is an excuse for spiritual laziness. We have all been given the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth. Jesus further said that His sheep hear His voice.
John 10:27
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
Although some people may be more intuitive, all Christians have the ability to hear the voice of Jesus. It is one of His promises, so if you believe this myth, you are in all actuality, calling Jesus a liar.
Stop and quiet your heart and mind. Read the Bible since the Bible trains us to be able to discern what is the voice of Jesus. You will learn how to hear the voice of Jesus just like you learned to hear the voice of your parents and siblings. You didn’t start out understanding everything they said as well.
Myth #4; If I Open Up To Spiritual Things, I Might Get Demonic Things
There is nothing more that Satan loves than keeping believers in fear. It is the force that He uses to stop the spread of the gospel. He knows that if we will connect with the heart of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit then he is sunk.
When we seek to know Jesus more and the power that He has promised for individual believers, then we will not be led astray because He will not allow us to be led astray. When we think Satan can intercept our prayers to God and insert his counterfeit then we are attributing to him more power than he has. He is only a fallen angel, not the equivalent to God.
Myth #5; Angelic Visitations Are Dangerous
Many people teach that angelic visitations are dangerous or risky. This causes people to avoid them or think that somehow they are illegal or prohibited in the Spirit filled life. The book of Hebrews tells us that they are sent to minister to those that will inherit salvation.
Hebrews 1:14
Therefore, angels are only servants – spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.
The Bible never tells us to avoid talking to or interacting with angels. It says that we are not to worship them and that we are to test them to make sure they are from God. The book of Acts is filled with angelic encounters and the early church knew how to respond to such encounters. Again, fear is not from God, it is from Satan.
Myth #6; Miracles Are For 3rd World Countries In Africa
I have heard it taught many times that miracles only happen in 3rd world countries because God has to perform miracles because there is no modern science or modern means to do what needs to be done.
I scratch my head when I hear teachings like these. It seems to me that they are saying that God is not needed because our rational science and modern luxuries replace God. Who is their God then? Is it the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Is it Jesus the miracle worker, or is it modern science and rationality?
The fact of the matter is that Jesus said miraculous signs would follow believers. It is not God that has stopped working miracles in modern countries, but that believers have stopped believing that they would happen.
Myth #7; The Supernatural Is Always Weird
Part of the drawback of having lived in the age of television is that Christian TV has sensationalized the supernatural. You have to act weird, sound weird, and wear clothes you wouldn’t be caught dead in in public. Sensationalism sells TV shows and thus brings in viewers to watch the dancing bears and circus act.
Just last night I was talking to the Pastor’s wife of the local Church of God in our town. She was explaining how God supernaturally confirmed to her that it was His will to come to our town. It was nothing more than an Elder of her church coming to her out of the blue and giving her a scripture. Just that morning she had asked for God to have somebody give her a scripture that would confirm to her that it was His will that they leave the town they were in. That was supernatural but it wasn’t flamboyant.
In my own life, I have seen God move in supernatural ways when I didn’t feel a thing. I have prayed for many people to be healed and was sure that my prayers hit the ceiling and bounced straight down to earth. I felt nothing. However, I would get reports the following week that people have gone to the doctor totally healed.
I believe that God wants us to walk in a naturally supernatural way. Yes sometimes it gets out of the ordinary, but in all honesty, He uses ordinary people in ordinary ways, with an extraordinary outcome so that all the glory goes to Him.
Myth #8; Supernatural Gifts Call You To Full Time Ministry
Full time ministry is not the ultimate achievement in the Spirit filled life. In fact, full time ministry is a calling to come off the front lines and work behind the scenes. It is not meant to be a merit badge of our spirituality. It is instead like taking a field commander of an Army and sending him to train recruits at bootcamp.
So just because you are moving in the gift of healing, or prophecy, or working of miracles, does not mean that you need to buy a tent, call churches, and schedule meetings. All of us are called to minister to those around us full time. Very few of us are called to be paid for doing so. Most of us are called to be out on the front lines, not ministering to other believers.
Myth #9; If I Can Be Prayed For By My Hero Of The Faith, I Will Walk In Revival
Right now there is a real fad going on called “impartation”. It is where people believe that if they pray for someone, that they will impart their gifting to that person. There are many Christians flying all over the world just to have a certain person pray for them in order to receive that gift. Although impartation is one way that gifting is transferred it is by no means the only way or the way that God wants to activate spiritual gifts in you.
You see, here is the problem. Gifts are given by God, not man. The reason that person has had their particular gift bestowed upon them is because of the journey they have walked with God that nobody knows about.
You need that secret journey yourself. If you set out on that journey, then God will impart to you the gifts that you need for your journey. Stop trying to get the gifts that are meant for another person’s journey. Get the ones that you need.
When you seek after other people’s gifts, it will send you on an endless loop of chasing, expecting, and then being disappointed. Instead, set out on your journey to experience true spiritual fire and revival in your life, and you will have all the gifting that you could ever want
Myth #10; God Always Wants It Big
In our American culture, we always believe that bigger is better. That is why most people assume that a mega church is synonymous with the blessing of God. However that is not the case. Bigger is not always better. All that this mentality produces is the need to have bigger whistles, better shows, and more hype than the previous week. Hype does not produce the move of God’s Spirit.
If you notice in Jesus ministry, He ended up with the opposite. He started with crowds, was whittled down to disciples, and eventually at His greatest moment of need, only 1 disciple and His mother stood beside Him.
Some of the deepest and most spiritually impacting things happen in the intimacy of smallness and little things. If you seek bigger and better you will miss those deep things of preparation and character building that are necessary for lasting fruit.
So there you have it. 10 myths of the Spirit filled life. Now go and walk in the truth.
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